Crocodile Tears
by NatsuhiboshiStar
Summary: Someone has betrayed Naruto, leading to Akatsuki attacks. Can Naruto handle all this? And what about Sasuke? maybe SLIGHT NaruSasu. Dont complain if it gets a bit angsty
1. Chapter 1

Oh, my first Naruto fanfic! Can't wait!!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto... I WISH I did...but I don't.

Also, this takes place during all those fillers. After Sasuke Retrieval Arc, obviously.

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Naruto's face paled with anger. Despite the freezing winter air that blew his hair over his eyes, his face was glowing hot. Any poor snowflake that touched his skin quickly melted away.

He had fallen asleep outside the practice area near the woods last night. This was beginning to become a routine for the young blonde, who, despite his sensei's orders, had trained himself into exhaustion every night for the past fortnight. Every night he'd fall asleep on the grass, unable to move from his intense training, and every morning half an inch of freezing snow would wake him with a start.

Today was different.

Today he had slept through agonizing dreams of Sasuke. It was the all too familiar dreams of two young ninjas battling, one's aim to kill...to other's aim to save.

Naruto loved Sasuke, and every day spent away from the raven-haired ninja was torture. His friends helped, of course, but even thinking about his ex-best friend brought him beyond tears

What angered him, though, enough to melt the never-ending fall of snow around him, was Sakura.

Ah, Sakura. Sweet, beautiful, smart, young Sakura.

Naruto had had a crush on her since the day he first learned her name. She had trusted Naruto to bring Sasuke back to the village. She fell to her knees and cried for him, _begging_ Naruto to bring Sasuke back.

But he couldn't. And Sakura never forgave him. Thinking of her cruel words felt like a knife to the heart.

"I trusted you!" She cried in the hospital room when Naruto had come back empty-handed. "You...you promised me! Now...Sasuke-kun...he's... he'll..."

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto had whispered while on that hospital bed, bandaged like a mummy. "I _will _bring him back... he wont be consumed by evil... Orochimaru-"

"To hell with Orochimaru!" She screamed, tears leaking down her beautiful young face, "And with you!"

Naruto could remember the sickening silence. Shikamaru shifted uncomfortably. "Sakura, you know he--" he started to say, then sighed and turned his attention to the floor, probably deciding that getting involved would be too troublesome.

Then she left.

"Doesn't she know..." Naruto whispered to himself, bringing his knees to his chest as he watched the sun rise, "Doesn't she know how hard I tried to bring Sasuke back?" He pushed his hands between his legs for warmth. "Doesn't she know that I love him? Does she have any idea...?"

He allowed only one tear to fall. It slid down his cheek and the freezing drop of shame stuck to his chin. He quickly wiped it away and stood up. A chilly gust of winter air greeted him.

Shaking off this depressing feeling, he put on his trademark ear-to-ear grin and turned around, his stomach aching for a warm bowel of Ichiraku Ramen. Just as he was wondering if they would open early for him, a growling voice shocked him.

"Uzumaki Naruto..." The voice appeared in the distance, "I thought having the spirit of the demon fox would make you sensitive to this sort of weather."

Naruto instinctively reached for a kunai and wheeled around, ready. Who he saw, though, sent a wave of surprise and fear though him. It was the two men he hadn't expected to see for another year and a half, at least. But that didn't alter the fact that the two missing nins of the organization called Akatsuki were standing not twenty feet from him.

"Uchiha...Itachi!" Naruto whispered loudly, holding his kunai at the ready.

But he was already thinking of an escape plan. Stronger though he was, there was no way he could even think about fighting such strong ninja. Trying to would be suicide. There was nothing he could do but run.

"Stop. If you fly, we'll be forced to chase after you. Lets make this as easy as possible, _ne_?" Kisame, the other ninja, growled, glaring at Naruto.

"Don't screw around with me!" Naruto yelled, beginning to feel himself shake. He didn't know if it was due to the near-freezing weather or the fear of imminent death.

----

**A/N**: Sorry this chapter is _significantly _short - I should really get to bed. Also, I know I changed some things. For instance, Sakura is worse than she really is, but this is how I see her. I really don't like her.

Naruto: Well, you sure rushed things didn't you!?

Me: You were equally surprised. I wanted that.

Naruto: Right. Your just lazy... you and Shikamaru should team up.

Me: Watch it, I can write your future!

Naruto: Pfft, how bad could it possibly be?

Me: "Then Naruto had the sudden urge to dye his hair pink and try his luck on Gai-sensei, who looked great in that tight jumpsuit, in his opinion."

Naruto: _No_!!! I hate that sort of yaoi!!!


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own anything about Naruto except the games and t-shirts I bought.

Second chapter is up! For those of you who read any of my other stories, you'll know I update pretty quickly but during these holidays, I won't be on as much. Then again, neither should you! . **Also, for those of you who are far ahead into the manga series, you'll find a conversation in here a bit familiar**. Not word-for-word, of course.

Enjoy!

_"Don't screw around with me!" Naruto yelled, beginning to feel himself shake. He didn't know if it was due to the near-freezing weather or the fear of imminent death._

_---_

Naruto had to keep himself from looking into Itachi's eyes. He had heard from Kakashi the powers of the _Mangekyu_ _Sharingan. _If he even glanced into those red eyes, all hope would be lost.

"Don't worry, Naruto-kun," Itachi said slowly, I am not going to use Sharingan on you."

"Or rather, you can't." a familiar voice sounded. Naruto whipped around, prepared for another Akatsuki member. His heart-beat slowed, and a smile played his lips.

"Kakashi-Sensei!" Naruto yelled as his teacher appeared in a puff of smoke. He was saved.

"Yo." Kakashi said cooly, as usual, placing himself securely in front of Naruto.

"Hatake Kakashi..." Kisame growled. "Long time no see. Will you surrender Uzumaki Naruto now or should we kill you this time?"

"Do whatever you like_-"_ Kakashi shrugged.

"WHAT!?" Naruto yelled.

"-but I hope you don't mind if I try to defend myself and Naruto." Kakashi said, pulling his headband from his left eye.

"Of course not...I like a good batt-" Kisame began to say, touching his giant blade. Before he could finish, though, Itachi placed one finger on Kisame's right shoulderand the monster flew at least fifty feet away, smacking into a tree. Naruto gasped. Even Kakashi looked stunned.

"We are not here for a fight, Kisame." Itachi growled, his black eyes glaring at Kakashi. "Hatake Kakashi, surrender your student _now. _Don't you fear _Mangekyu Sharingan_?"

Kakashi laughed. Actually laughed! "Yes, Itachi. Yes, I do. However, as I said before, you cannot always use that power. To use it in a place like this would weaken you severelyAlso, you have wounded your teammate. The odds would be against you._.. how much has your eyesight deteriorated since we last fought, Itachi?"_

There was a silence.

"Very meticulous, Kakashi. Yet you seem to be underestimating me as always. I do not need the Sharingan to get what I need... I don't even need to see._"_

And, with that, both Akatsuki members disappeared, even the unconscious Kisame. Kakashi whipped around, a look of horrible panic on his face.

"Wh-what is it, sensei?" Naruto asked, worried. Kakashi sighed and re-covered his eye.

"Nothing... I thought you had gone." he whispered, "Well, those people have left. You don't have to worry about them at the moment."

Naruto's eyes drifted to the snow-plastered ground. _At the moment._ "H-how did you know where I was?" He asked.

"You've been appearing here everyday for two weeks, Naruto. It's not healthy at all for you to be training like this. But lets save that for later. Come on, I'll escort you to the hospital."

"_Escort?_ I don't need an escort and I don't need the hospital. I'm fine on my –"

"You're _not_ fine on your own, Naruto!" Kakashi yelled, suddenly angered. Naruto tensed. He had rarely seen his sensei like this. "Do you have any idea why those people are after you? They want to _kill_ you! They want the Kyuubi that's sealed inside of you! If they get that, Naruto, you'll die! Stop being naive. You're a _ninja_!"

Naruto avoided his gaze, his eyes rested instead on one of Itachi's footprints, the falling snow slowly filling the space.

"I know that, sensei." Naruto said calmly, his eyes still staring at the spot where his would-be killer once stood. "That's why I'm here. I need to get stronger... I'll defeat those Akatsuki guys but before that, I need to get Sasuke back."

Kakashi blinked. _Sasuke. _"Naruto, forget about him. He's not going to come back. You need to focus all of your time and attention on how to avoid Akatsuki!"

"SHUT UP!" Naruto yelled, squeezing the kunai he had taken out minutes ago. "Your just like Jiraiya. I told Sakura I'd bring Sasuke back..."

Kakashi closed his eyes. He knew what was coming next.

"_I don't give up and I _don't _run away. And I _never _go back on my word. That's my Nindo_!"

_This guy is something else,_ Kakashi thought.

---

Inside her office, Tsunade was growing tired. Her head was rested on one of her hands and a pen was balanced in the other. So early in the morning and already she was thinking of how to get past Shizune for a nice warn glass of Sake.

"Maybe I can slip a sleeping powder into her morning water," she sighed, turning her attention to the paperwork in front of her. Another troublesome mission. Tsunade had to personally deal with the disturbing ones and make sure the right shinobi were assigned to them. She wrote down the names Asuma, Zaku, and Kakashi before crossing them out. Is this A-Ranked mission so detailed that she should just leave it to ANBU to take care of? Is Asuma even back from his previous mission? Maybe Jiraiya could help on this one. But where was he? No, forget about him. Leave it to ANBU. Now, how many ANBU shinobi are available at this time?

Just before she crumpled the paper and spit on it, her door burst open. "Tsunade-sama!" Shizune said cheerfully, "Good morning! Have you finished that paperwork? I see you haven't. Oh, well. Hey, I was looking for Naruto this morning because I thought I could convince him to perform that technique of his and sweep the snow off everyone's steps. Just a thought, as I haven't seen him in a while. Of course, he probably wouldn't do it without getting paid so I brought up these forms so you could sign them, that way it would be an actual legal mission. I don't think–"

"Shizune!" Tsunade yelled, jumping to her feet. "Please...get out." she fumed, "I've got too much to deal with at the moment."

Shizune seemed hurt. "Of course." she said quietly, turning to leave. Tsunade sighed.

"Wait... come here." she said. When the brunette approached, Tsunade took the mission form from her and signed it. "Don't go overpaying him. You know the only thing he buys is ramen." She chuckled. Shizune smiled.

"Oh!" she remembered, "I got this for you this morning. It should help." And she handed Tsunade a flask before leaving.

Tsunade unscrewed the top and sniffed the inside. She smiled. Nice, warm Sake. Now she could get something _done_.

Just as Tsunade finished signing the last paper on her desk and placed it neatly onto an organized pile, her door slammed open again. This time, the noise shocked her so much, she accidently spilled the last of her Sake...all over the finished paperwork.

Before wondering who she was going to murder for the incident, Kakashi strolled into the room.

"Kakashi..." Tsunade fumed, "_what do you want?"_

Kakashi frowned. "Why the bloodlust?" He asked, tense. Then, he noticed the mountain of papers on her desk and the greenish liquid leaking off of them. "Ah..." he said quietly. "I am sorry for that. I came here directly after _forcing_ Uzumaki Naruto to the hospital, like you asked."

"Good. Now, could you please _leave_? I have...a lot of paperwork to re-do."

"Yes, I can see that. I thought, though, that I might inform you that as I was collecting Naruto, two members of Akatsuki showed up."

Tsunade quickly looked up, her eyes wide. "_Akatsuki?"_

"Yes. Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame. Of course, they were after Naruto. They left, though. I can no longer sense their chakras."

There was a silence. Tsunade completely forgot about her ruined work. "But they'll be back! Here, this is an order for Naruto not to leave the hospital until I allow him to," she said quickly, grabbing a piece of parchment and scribbling something down, "And another for five ANBU to watch over him. Wait, I just assigned ANBU to missions! _Kuso!_"

"Hokage-sama, wait. There is no need for this stress." Kakashi said cooly, not taking the two sheets of paper Tsunade was handing him. "I'll personally keep my eye on him as often as possible. Don't worry, he'll be fine. I had a talk with him."

"Kakashi, if I can't rely on you, I'll personally have to watch over Naruto and that will lead the village to weaken as I wont be here to do my Hokage duties! Now here, take these forms and deliver them to the hospital. That should stall them for a few hours, at least." She said hastily, her arm extended. Kakashi didn't move.

"Your not acting like yourself, Tsunade." he said simply. "Think. Those two wont be back today. Now that we know about their whereabouts, they shouldn't be back for a _while_. Itachi said he wasn't looking for a fight. And that's exactly what they'll get if they attempt a kidnap under watching noses. Both missing nins were planning on a surprise attack. When Itachi saw me, he got angered. He _knew _the mission was a failure."

Another long silence. The only noise was the clanking of the old heater installed above Tsunade's desk.

"Your right." Tsunade said, placing the papers back onto her desk"I was acting too quickly without stopping to think. But take this form to the hospital. I need to talk to him."

Kakashi took the paper. "Yes, Hokage-sama." he said and walked out the door, leaving Tsunade in quiet confusion

---

A/N: Longer chapter. May have been boring. So, did anyone recognize the "how much has your eyesight deteriorated_?" _conversation? I sort of took that from the manga. Just a bit.

Naruto: Pfft. Can't even come up with your own ideas.

Me: Shut up! I've got a pretty good idea in my head and it involves your _funeral_!

Naruto: ...

Me: .

Naruto: By the way...I liked that little joke you added. "I'll keep my eye on him"

Me: I'm a genius.


	3. Chapter 3

**So, third chapter! I should let you all know now, before anyone starts complaining, that the story I'm writing is different from that in the manga, obviously. I've changed a thing or two. Nothing too major. **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto**

Naruto rolled over in his warm hospital bed. He had to admit, it felt nice sleeping in heated sheets with a pillow full of feathers, rather than waking up on the cold, hard snow-plastered ground as he was accustomed to lately. This euphoria, however, left him quickly. He frowned and rolled onto his back.

"_Akatsuki_..." He whispered, staring at the flourescent lights above him. The attack was sudden and random, and it wouldn't leave Naruto's mind. Would they try to sneak up on him again? Should he leave the village, perhaps? No... thats the coward's way. What he would have to do was train. Harder and harder, until he stood a fighting chance to save himself if they ever tried to capture him again. Yes, that was it. He would need to find that perverted hermit and ask him to give him his toughest training yet. "but before that..." he told himself, sitting up out of bed as his stomach gave a violent growl, " I'll visit the old man at the Ichiraku Ramen bar!" He smiled, deciding that a few dozen large bowels of ramen would be something he might consider his last meal, as he would train relentlessly after he slurped his last noodle.

Naruto stood up straight and streched, trying to put Akatsuki out of his mind. He opened the door to his room and strolled out, zipping up his jacket to lock in some warmth. In the distance, someone started shouting. He almost turned around, but decided against it. Nothing was going to distract him today! He opened the door to the hospital and walked into the chilly air, just as the angered yelling grew louder. He began to throw his right hand up in front of his eyes to protect them when someone grabbed him around the waist from behind, knocking the wind from him.

Naruto let out a shocked yell as the man threw himself on top of him, forcing Naruto's face into the freezing snow. He couldn't think - He couldn't move! Was Akatsuki making an attack in broad daylight? In the center of the village!? Naruto panicked, feeling stronger chakra flow from him. He could force this man off of him - he could kill him! He wouldn't be taken! unfortunately, though, just as the chakra of the nine-tailed fox began to flow through him, all his chakra disappeared. Something gently pricked the back of his neck and Naruto closed his eyes, took a breath, and fell into darkness.

--------

Somewhere in the darkness, a young man stood with his back against a wall. He had his arms folded across him and was listening intently on what his master was saying to him.

"Akatsuki is growing stronger..." The older man said, brushing his long black hair from his eyes. "They'll be overpowering me any time now..." he growled. The younger man listened. "If they capture all the jinchuriki, it will be the end. We must.. stop him. Especially if they reach the kitsune demon."

The young man's ears perked. He smirked. "We've had this conversation many times before. I remember you informing me... the names of the remaining jinchuriki... Uzumaki Naruto, he was the container of that Kyuubi, no?"

"Yes.. the strongest of the tailed beasts."

There was a lenthy pause. "I'd been thinking... we should capture him. If we have a safe hold of him, Akatsuki will not be able to capture all the beasts. Of course, they'll come after him here, when they find out where he is. It will be a good chance for... a fight I've been waiting for."

Orchimaru looked up. "True. I was thinking of that myself, I have been for a while. We could easily capture the boy and weaken him so he wouldn't be able to use the demon's chakra. It would be easy, of course, but if all Akatsuki members come after him here..."

"I'll kill them." Sasuke answered. "I'm stronger than he is."

"There's more here than Itachi, Sasuke!" Orochimaru said, a bit angered. "You know how important this is. You'll be needed to fight - not just your brother, but all of those who wear the Akatsuki cloaks."

Sasuke stood up straight, "I know. Don't underestimate me, Orochimaru-sama." He said seriuosly. his sensei smiled.

"Never. Though you might have a problem. That Uzumaki Naruto kid, he was your best friend, was he not? I've seen the way you two used to work together. Will you allow me to capture him? I can't hope on you somehow...betraying me, can I?" He growled, glaring at Sasuke, who smirked.

"Never." He answered. "I can capture him myself if that is what you want. I'll bring him here... _myself_."

----

Naruto opened his eyes and immediantly panicked. His eyes had not nearly adjusted to the bright lights over him before he let out a startled yell, not knowing where he was after he was knocked unconscious. He jumped from the bed he was in and immediantly began to get his bearings. Someone was advancing on him, causing Naruto to scream and back away twenty feet until he slammed into a wall.

"Naruto!" The person exclaimed. Naruto took a deep breath and blinked. His pounding heart began to slow. It was only Tsunade, who was wearing a startled and concerned look on her face. "Naruto, it's ok, it's me! Calm down!" She ordered, keeping a good distance away from Naruto in case he started freaking out again.

Naruto had calmed when he locked eyes with the Hokage. He was in the hospital again. "I'm sorry." He said slowly, taking a deep breath. Tsunade was quiet. "I was..."

"I understand." Tsunade said slowly, walking towards him and gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright."

Naruto was now ashamed over how excited he had gotten. He acted like... a _child_. "I thought you were..."

"I know. The man who attacked you was an ANBU officer. I ordered him to watch over you, and I might have said that if you escaped, I'd demote him to a Genin, so forgive him for being so brutal."

Naruto sat on the familiar hospital bed. "Tsunade Obaa-chan... your mean." He said sternly. Tsunade smiled.

"I ordered him to stand outside your door, which is where he is now, so no more trying to esca--"

"I wasn't! I didn't--"

"I'm serious! Now, I know your worried about Akatsuki, but I can promise you that they won't be back for a while... months, at the least. But I need to know your safe. A few guards -"

Naruto jumped up. "No!" he yelled. "I don't need _guards! _I need the Perverted Hermit to supervise my training! I'm not going to be a burden to anyone, damn it!" He growled, serious. Tsunade blinked. She expected as much.

"Very well, Naruto. I will order Jiraiya to train you relentlessly. It will not be easy - I'm going to help. Of course, because I'm going to be a part of your training, your team-mate Haruno Sakura will be training along with us, as she is my student. Will you be ready for it?"

Naruto smiled. "I always am."

"Good. I will dismiss the ANBU guard thats eavesdropping on us, then you will begin your training immediantly..." she said, then hesitated. "Well...first, you should eat some ramen. It could be considered something like your last meal." He smiled. She had read his mind.

---

Sakura was returning the files she was to copy for Tsunade. The day was as boring as it was long, and copying files made the hours seem like weeks. She entered her office and placed the papers on her un-organized desk.

"Thank you, Sakura." Tsunade said. Sakura turned to leave. "Wait. I know you don't like this type of work. You'll be starting physical work again today and will train with jiraiya and myself." She said in a dignified voice. Sakura perked up.

"Train with.. two of the three Sannin! Yes, yes, I'm looking forward to it, Tsunade-senpai!" she smiled. This was what she needed - to be strong! She would now really be following in the footsteps of Tsunade. "What time should I meet you?"

"Bring all your ninja gear at noon. You may be used to Kakashi, but I will not be late so make sure you are on time! The training area near the woods sounds good." She said, looking over the papers Sakura handed to her.

Sakura couldn't stop grinning. This was what she wanted! This was what she needed! "Yes, I will! Thank you very much!" She turned to leave, ready to gather her gear up as quickly as possible. Tsunade stopped her again.

"Oh, I might have forgotten - you will also be training with Jiraiya's student, Uzumaki Naruto." she said simply.

Sakura frowned, her back still to Tsunade. "Oh? Well... I'm still looking forward to it." she said, feigning a smile and leaving the room. Once outside the door, she cursed her luck. Of all people...this was going to be awkward.

----

This chapter was a little rushed, sorry. I taped Naruto's mough shut, so he'll not be adding his input today! Yay silence!

Next Chapter: Sasuke-kun!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter four**

Thanks for the reviews, even if there are very few. I appreciate every one I can get.

I write for myself, but requests for the story will be considered. Sankuu, readers!

----

Sakura could barely stop to catch her breath. She expected her training to be tough, but this was insane! It was a remodification of Kakashi's bell training, except that in this new exercise, Sakura and Naruto had each a bell, and Tsunade and Jiraiya were attempting to take them. They were given an hour to avoid the Sannin. Way harder than she expected. And to make matters worse, if she didn't pass this exercise, she wouldn't be allowed to train with Jiraiya! All her strength depended on this one exercise. Theres no way she would lose!

Sakura leaned against a bush for a temporary break. Her breaths came in short gasps as her heart-beat slowed to normal. She reached into her pouch for a small flask of water she had brought with her, then remembered that her entire pouch and it's contents had spilled minutes earlier as Jiraiya came at her from underground.

"Ku...so..." she panted, brushing her hair from her eyes, thankful that they were in the dead of winter rather than in the middle of the hot sun. Just as she was thinking of another plan to distract Tsunade and Jiraiya, Naruto poked his head through he smaller bush in front of her, causing Sakura to jump a foot in the air.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto said innocently, "you look _horrible_!" He exclaimed, noticing her blood-red face and the way her hair was plastered to her face. Immediantly after he said this to her, his eyes widened and he burst into incoherent explanations. "I - I - didn't mean like that! I - I mean - erm... I'm sorry, uh... here! Have some water!" He said cheerfully, pulling his newly-filled flask of water from his pouch.

"No, thank you, Naruto." Sakura scowled. It was still too soon for her to be forgiving him - after how he abandoned Sasuke! Naruto looked hurt.

"Sakura-chan, you need it! You'll dehydrate... I think." He insisted, pushing the flask under her nose. Sakura smacked it hard, sending it flying into Naruto's face.

Naruto didn't flinch. "Why..." He merely asked, angered. "Why are you acting like this to me?"

Sakura couldn't stand it! "Why! Because of what you did to Sasuke! You gave up! You told me you'd bring him back, but you didnt even try! I trusted you and you failed!" She screamed, aware that Jiraiya and Tsunade would soon locate them.

Naruto sat on his knees, next to Sakura, water dripping from his blonde hair, a look of melancholy on his face. "Thats not true..."

"Yes it is!" Sakura screamed, only to be cut off.

"LISTEN TO ME!" Naruto yelled, looking straight at Sakura, whose face expression went from hatred to shock in less than a second. "You have... no idea. Don't sit there and act like you were there! I fought him! I told him I'd break his bones if I had to, and drag him back to the village! He was a changed person, Sakura! He's no longer the Sasuke you knew! He was... _flowing_ with evil. He tried to kill me, saying that all ties he had with the village were broken! I used all my strength to try to bring him back. Every ounce. It was harder than you'll ever know! In the end... he was... _stronger_. I'm sorry." He said simply, standing up.

Sakura was still staring at Naruto, who looked on the brink of tears. "Naruto..." she whispered.

"Peverted Hermit." Naruto said louder, "You smell like an old man. I know your behind me." Sakura gasped, jumping to her feet and clasping her pocket, where she held her precious bell.

Jiraiya and Tsunade emerged from the bushes behind Naruto nonchalantly. They eached had their eyes fixed on Naruto.

"We'll be suspending the training for today," Tsunade said simply. Naruto sighed and grabbed his bell, holding it in his right fist in front of Sakura.

"I'm sorry. I was afraid you'd be caught, so I took your bell to hold for you. You can't be dismissed from the training if Tsunade Obaa-chan or Ero-Sennin didn't get that bell." He smiled, dropping her small bell onto the ground. It bounced once and rolled towards her.

Jiraiya cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Come on, Naruto." He said quietly, "Let's get something to eat."

"Alright!" Naruto perked up, "Ramen it is! Your treat, then? That works!" He exclaimed, taking off towards the center of the town with Jiraiya running behind him yelling "Wait- wait, Naruto! I never said I'd treat you! Hey!"

Sakura let her head drop as Jiraiya and Naruto disappeared. "Did you... hear that conversation, Tsunade-sensei?"

"Yes." She said simply. "I did. You should be less harsh on him about Sasuke. Naruto isn't the best ninja in the village, and he still messes up a lot, but if you want the truth..." She said, glaring at Sakura, "he's stronger than you are. If _you_ had been up against Sasuke, you'd have died. That's the simple truth." She said harshly, turning around and disappearing. Sakura sighed, letting a few tears roll down her cheek before picking up the bell Naruto had discarded and holding it up to her chest.

"I'm sorry... Naruto." she whispered, jumping onto a nearby branch.

--

A/N: OH, my GOD!! THe shortest chapter...ever!! Ahh!! Keep back, flamers!! Back, I say!

Naruto: Hey... calm down.

Me: But, I know people will say "make your chapters longer! GWAR!"

Naruto: But...you would probably be excited if you got ANY review, right?

Me...yeah...


End file.
